Reporter's eye-roll steals spotlight at Chinese parliament

5 days ago

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This screengrab shows Liang Xiangyi rolling her eyes while a fellow reporter is busy introducing herself during China's annual Parliament session in Beijing on Wednesday.

BEIJING - A TV reporter's theatrical eye-roll during another journalist's question at a news conference stole the show this week during China's annual Parliament session, exploding on Chinese social media before censors intervened. The incident unfolded on live television during a media session on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC), where high-level officials field often pre-approved questions, mostly from domestic media. Liang Xiangyi, a TV reporter from financial news outlet Yicai, seemed to find a fellow journalist's long-winded question on China's state asset management too much to bear. Liang, standing next to the questioner, Zhang Huijun, rolled her eyes, looked Zhang up and down then turned away with another dismissive raising of the eyes. Televised nationwide, the incident was seen by millions and quickly spawned GIFs, video clips and parodies across China's vibrant but tightly controlled social media before many of the postings were removed. - Reuters